Coffee Beans
by What-A-Conundrum
Summary: Francis is in need of a part-time job while he makes his way through collage and lands a job at nearby coffee shop. Along the way he meets Toris, at longtime worker there. It's funny, Francis thought he was too old for crushes.


Francis brushed his hair back behind his ear and looked up at the coffee shop he stood in front of. It definitely wasn't his first choice in work, but he did have to make some money. There was a reason he was at the collage on a scholarship. Francis sighed and stepped inside the shop, out of the chilled Autumn air, and took a look around. It was nicer than he expected. The air smelled of hot coffee and atmosphere was very relaxing. He made his way over to the counter where he saw a man about his age working.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know where the manager is?" He smiled, kindly. No need to be rude to the stranger.

The man looked up at him, curiously. Maybe even a little judgmentally. "He's out at the moment. May I help you?" He had brilliant green eyes and his hair was similar in length to Francis'. The difference being the color, which was a soft brown.

Francis nodded. "I see. Do you know what time he'll be back?"

"In about half an hour or so, I'd say. You wouldn't mind me asking what it is you'd like to see him for?"

Francis reached up to scratch at the stubble on his chin. "Well, I had heard from a friend that you had a job opening and I would like to apply." Francis raised an eyebrow at the man. It looked as though he was holding back laughter. "I guess I will wait for him to return."

The man cleared his throat and nodded. "Would you like me to get anything for you while you wait, sir?"

Francis looked up at the menu board quickly and made an order of coffee before moving to sit at a table near one of the large windows at the front of the shop.

After a few minutes the man came over to Francis with his order, simply coffee with steamed milk, and set it on the table. "Will that be all, sir" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," Francis replied as he took out his wallet. "How much will it be?"

The man was quiet for a moment. "I'll tell you what," he started. "You manage to get the job, and it's on the house."

Francis smiled a bit and reached out a hand. "Alright. It's a deal," he said as he shook hands with the man. "Oh, I don't believe that I caught your name."

"You can call me Toris."

After about 30 minutes of waiting around by the window and watching people pass by, another man came in through the door. He moved over to the counter and began speaking to Toris, who gestured over to Francis. I guess this would be the manager, he thought. He stood up and walked over, smiling at the man and holding his hand out for him to shake when he was greeted. "Hello, sir. I presume you're the manager? I would like to ask about the job opening you have. My name is Francis Bonnefoy."

The man shook his hand, smiling back in a way that almost seemed fake. "I am Ivan Braginski. You have come to apply, yes?"

"Yes, sir." Francis tried not to wince at the manager's grip.

"Wait here. I'll go get papers and we can start the interview." And with that, he turned and moved behind the counter, going into a back room. Francis waited until he was sure to be gone before speaking to Toris.

"Damn he's got a grip. Does he always smile like that?"

"You get used to it after awhile. He doesn't always mean to be creepy, but it's better if you've known him a long time."

"Is that the only reason you don't believe I'll get the job? You think I'll chicken out?"

Toris shook his head. "No, It's not particularly you I'm worried about. His screening process can get to be pretty intense."

Francis furrowed his eyebrows. "It can't be that bad."

Toris chuckled a bit, deciding not to elaborate. Before either of them could talk, however, the manager was coming back with an application in his hand. "Fill this out, then we will have the interview," he said before returning to the room.

Francis turned to Toris. "You wouldn't happen to have a pen I could borrow?"

Toris opened his mouth to talk, but abruptly closed it and began opening and closing drawers to look for a pen. Francis noted that he hadn't really noticed before, but Toris had a light dusting of freckles over his nose and cheeks. He also noted that he liked them, which was odd because he never had much of an opinion on freckles. He decided not to over think it. When Toris finally grabbed a black ballpoint pen and handed it to him, he smiled and returned to his table to fill out the forms. Apparently Ivan was offering training to anyone without experience. That is assuming they're fit for the job. Francis thought about it. It couldn't be too bad getting trained by Ivan. He didn't want to spend that much time with the slightly disturbing man, but Toris did say you get used to it. He sighed to himself and finished filling out the forms. After straightening them out, he stood up and walked back over to Toris.

"Done?" He asked.

Francis held out the pen for him to take back as he replied. "Yes, thank you."

Toris took the pen, putting it back in it's drawer. "I'll go tell Ivan." And as he turned around to inform his boos, Francis found himself staring just a bit too long and cleared his throat, looking away. Toris came back shortly, telling Francis that Ivan was ready.

Saying it was a bit unnerving would be an understatement. Francis found that he was much more affected by him than Toris, but left it to the fact that they've apparently known each other longer. After the interview they both came out of the room, Francis letting out a sigh like it was a heavy weight on his shoulders. Ivan had said he'd be alright for the job but, seeing as though he didn't have much experience- one can only guess how much experience you need to work in a coffee shop, Ivan must run a tight shift around here - he was hired as a trainee. Francis looked over at Toris with a "ha" kind of smirk. Toris put his hands up a bit, as if to say "okay, okay, you proved me wrong."

Ivan turned to Francis. "How soon are you available to start?"

Francis brought up his arm to look at the watch on his wrist. "I would say around noontime tomorrow."

Ivan smiled that odd smile-not-smile again. "Good. You start training then." Suddenly Toris was by his side- when did he walk over- and Ivan patted his shoulder with one hand. "Toris will be mentoring you."

Francis found himself smiling a bit. Toris was smiling back.


End file.
